Theopolis Logo

Writing

Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

See all
jacek-dylag-pmxt0xtq-a-unsplash
Culture

Consumerism, Oikos, and the Role of Women in the Church

Part 1 We do not understand the role of women in ministry because we do not understand the role of men in ministry. We do not understand the role of men in ministry because we do not understand the church. We do not understand the church because the consumer culture…

by John CarpenterJuly 11, 2023
adam-and-eve-in-the-garden-of-eden-wenzel-peter
Biblical Theology

Genesis’ Beginning Story

1. One structure The Creation account (G1:1-2:4) conspicuously conveys meaning using the literary shape of the text. The narrative is told with formulaic patterns, repetitions, and parallelism. The Garden account is different. It is viewed as a separate text, with its own author, employing its own structure. This second account’s…

by Scott FairbanksJune 28, 2023
jelleke-vanooteghem-gnxb59lgu1m-unsplash
Baptism

Crystalline Baptism

I was reading James Jordan’s Creation in Six Days while also preparing for Trinity Sunday in which the gospel reading is John 3:1-15. As providence would have it Jordan dropped an easter egg for me along the lines of baptism. In chapter 5 he points out, “ On the second…

by Matthew CoreyJune 20, 2023
ryan-loughlin-a8cewc-qgq-unsplash
Baptism

Christians Should Baptize Their Children, but Not Because of Circumcision

It's true. There is no verse in the New Testament that commands or records an infant baptism. This poses a problem for some Christians. Those who only look for explicit commands, or those whose theology is limited to the New Testament, will conclude that infant baptism is not biblical and…

by Adam McIntoshJune 13, 2023
adam-and-eve-in-the-garden-of-eden-wenzel-peter
Biblical Studies

Polarities

1. Goal This paper’s goal is to identify and describe a literary strategy employed by scripture, namely using two episodes that cover similar territory or themes using details drawn from opposite ends of a number of spectrums. Once described the reader may recognize numerous other instances of this strategy in…

by Scott FairbanksJune 7, 2023
juli-kosolapova-us_dv71f1bc-unsplash
Deuteronomy

Kind Capital Punishment

Numbers 14 records the tragic story of Israel’s decision to rebel against Yahweh and Moses. Twelve spies had been sent into the land to bring back a report to Israel. All twelve spies agreed: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey”…

by Ralph Allan SmithMay 31, 2023

Showing page 30 of 309

See all
See all
Theology

Social and Christian Virtue

Thomas Chalmers wrote in his Application of Christianity to the Commercial and Ordinary Affairs of Life (1821 edition): “Tell us, if the hold we have of a man’s own personal advantage were thus broken down, in how far the virtues of the mercantile world would survive it? Would not the…

January 21, 2008
Theology

Augustine’s Composition non mal

James J. O’Donnell notes in a superb introductory essay to Augustine’s City of God that the first 10 books, written in a classical, Ciceronian style that later yields to the plainer style of Christian exhortation, exhibit “measured symmetries” that “gradually disintegrate in books 11-22.” In particular, referring to the CCL…

January 21, 2008
History

Rare humilite

H. -I. Marrou wrote in his doctoral thesis, “Saint Augustin compose mal.” Like Augustine himself, though, Marrou later published a Retractatio to accompany a new edition of his dissertation, in which he described his comment on Augustine’s composition “jugement d’un jeune barbare ignorant et presomptueux.’

January 21, 2008

Sermon Outline, Third Sunday After Epiphany

INTRODUCTION In the Pentateuch, Moses came down from the mountain and led Israel through a wilderness of rebellion and judgment. Jesus the new Moses comes down from the mountain at the head of a great multitude (8:1). But his journey is a journey of healing, not judgment. THE TEXT “When…

January 21, 2008

Eucharistic meditation, Second Sunday After Epiphany

Micah 7:1: For I am like the fruit pickers, like the grape gatherers; there is not a cluster of grapes to eat, or a first-ripe fig which I crave. As we saw in the sermon this morning, Micah’s search for fruit on the vines and fig trees of Israel anticipates…

January 20, 2008

Exhortation, Second Sunday After Epiphany

Every church season has a color, and the color for Epiphany is green. Why? In Scripture as in life, green is a color of life. The righteous will flourish in old age, says the Psalmist; they shall be full of sap and very green. Solomon tells us that the one…

January 20, 2008

Showing page 1579 of 2212

Browse by Category

In Medias Res

Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.

Donate

Theopolis is nearly 100% donor-supported. Consider joining us on our mission.